Index

Arkansas State Designated a 'Top School' in Military Advanced Education’s 2015 Guide

2/12/2015

JONESBORO – Military Advanced Education (MAE) has awarded Arkansas State University the designation of a "Top School" in its 2015 Guide to Colleges & Universities, measuring best practices in military and veteran education.

The Guide presents results of a survey of military-supportive policies enacted at more than 600 institutions including private, public, for-profit, not-for-profit, four-year, and two-year colleges. It provides information about institutions that go out of their way to give back to our men and women in uniform.

This is Arkansas State's fifth consecutive year to be listed in the MAE guide. This year, institutions were evaluated on their military culture, financial aid, flexibility, on-campus support and online support services.

"Because of dedicated faculty and staff all across campus, military members and veterans can count on quality educational opportunities at Arkansas State," said Lynda Nash, director of the Beck PRIDE Center in the College of Nursing and Health Professions. "We appreciate this recognition by Military Advanced Education and we appreciate the excellent ongoing community support that makes this possible."

Local veteran hopes new bill prevents veteran suicides

Posted: Feb 03, 2015 4:39 PM CSTUpdated: Feb 03, 2015 9:34 PM CST

JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) -

The Military Suicide Prevention Act, or Clay Hunt Act, passed in the Senate Tuesday and one local veteran hopes the bill prevents more veteran suicides.

The bill aims to prevent suicide amongst veterans by making more information readily available and requiring evaluations on suicide prevention programs. There are 22 military suicides committed a day on average, adding up to about 8,000 a year.

The Beck Pride Center in Jonesboro is a service that helps local veterans get used to everyday life.

Former Army Staff Sergeant Tim McQuay is one of the veterans that is a part of the Beck Pride Center.

McQuay spent 19 years in the Army and was deployed three times to Iraq. He returned to the states in 2010 and suffered from depression for the next three years.

Director of the Beck Pride Center Lynda Nash said most veterans that walk through their door suffer from some form of depression. She said both Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury are closely linked to depression in veterans.

Nash and McQuay are hopeful that the new bill will provide veterans with the help that they need to prevent them from committing suicide.

McQuay said one of his personal goals is to help stop the 22 daily suicides.

“There's 22 average suicides a day by veterans. That has got to stop,” McQuay said. “That's my passion. I want to work in the VA and do what I can to reach out to these fellow veterans and prevent them from taking their own lives.”

Nash said the center offers veterans a place to talk to others in their situation.

She said they realize that there are other people out there going through similar problems. The big problem for veterans arises a few years after they return, Nash said.

“A lot of these veterans, functioned pretty well or do alright when they first come back,” Nash said. “They may get out of the service at that point and two years down the road, they are really struggling.”

McQuay said he realized his goal in life after a Vietnam veteran opened up to him one day. The man told him that he had not told anyone that information in about 40 years. McQuay he knew then what he was meant to do.

“It was like a light that went off in my head,” McQuay said. “It was like yeah this is what I was called to do. You know, I mean I helped soldiers for 19 years and I can't just turn that off once I put up the uniform.”

Beck PRIDE Center Receives Funding From Attorney General McDaniel

JONESBORO — Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has announced the Beck PRIDE Center for America’s Wounded Veterans at Arkansas State University has received a distribution of settlement funds under Act 763 of 2013.

The Beck PRIDE Center received $15,000 that will be used to support the needs of the veterans in the program in the areas of personal rehabilitation, individual development or education. The Attorney General’s office often gives settlement monies to non-profit organizations whose constituents may have been adversely affected.

“We always feel so fortunate when we have additional funding to support our veterans and their needs,” said Dr. Susan Hanrahan, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions. “The Attorney General has been generous with Arkansas settlement funds and we are grateful that our Beck PRIDE Center for America’s Wounded Veterans has been a designated recipient.”

Two weeks ago, McDaniel presented a check for $100,000 to A-State’s College of Engineering, saying, "The law allows for reallocation of resources gained in legal actions for the people of Arkansas, and these funds were the result of consumer practices fines in our settlement with a major pharmaceutical firm.”

31 Distinguished A-State Faculty Selected for Wall of Honor

12/5/2014

JONESBORO – The Arkansas State University Faculty Association will recognize 31 individuals who have been selected for the Distinguished Faculty Wall of Honor during the association's annual holiday event on Wednesday, Dec. 10.All A-State faculty, family and friends of the honorees, and previously designated distinguished faculty are invited to the 4-5 p.m. ceremony and 5-6 p.m. reception at the Cooper Alumni Center, 2600 Alumni Blvd.Recognition of distinguished faculty began during the university's Centennial Celebration in 2009-10 when the Faculty Association selected the "First 100 Distinguished Faculty." Every five years the association selects a number of retired faculty, through a well-defined faculty committee nomination process, who have made long-term significant contributions to Arkansas State.

Governor Appoints Manning to State Group

Posted: Dec 2, 2014

Gov. Mike Beebe has appointed Veronica Manning, clinical coordinator in the Department of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, to the Medical Ionizing Radiation Licensure Committee. The appointment represents A-State's continuing involvement with this regulatory group; her predecessor on the committee is Ray Winters, department chair. Previously she has been featured in a faculty spotlight video.

Arkansas State University Hosts Disaster Preparedness Conference

Posted: Nov 13, 2014 7:41 PM CST Updated: Nov 14, 2014 12:57 PM CST

Posted by Region 8 Newsdesk

JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) -School administrators from Region 8 schools gathered at Arkansas State University on Thursday for a disaster preparedness conference.

ASU Assistant Professor Brent Cox said the program is part of the Educational Renewal Zone initiative. The program helps provide training to school districts on disaster preparedness and response.

“No matter if it's from a tornado, to an active shooter, earthquakes, thunderstorms, accidents, whatever it may be we are talking to the safety teams and planning commissions of the schools on how to respond to and recover from disasters,” said Cox.

Blytheville Superintendent Richard Atwill attended the conference. He said he wants his schools to have a unified command system with the Mississippi County Sheriff's Department to help keep all citizens safe during possible disasters.

Report: Large number of veterans under-employed

JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) -For the sixth straight year, Arkansas State is listed among the Military Times "Best for Vets College" in the 2015 rankings. The Beck PRIDE Center has been serving veterans since 2010.

According to a survey from the University of Phoenix, the unemployment rate for veterans is dropping but a large number of them are under-employed.

The survey shows that 72 percent of veterans say they took a job because they were unemployed even though it was beneath their skill set.

"We may not have all the answers but we can help them find the answers and refer them to where they need," said Lynda Nash, director of the Beck PRIDE Center at Arkansas State University.

The center is currently helping 219 veterans and has assisted more than 400 veterans since the opened their doors about four years ago. The Beck PRIDE Center focuses on personal rehabilitation, individual development and education. Nash said their primary focus is recent combat veterans.

"Helping them identify the resources to pay for school, accessing those resources or do they need adjustment," she said. "We help provide support for not just veterans but spouses, significant others and children of those veterans."

The Beck PRIDE Center offers veterans access to counseling, placement tests and career options. Finding a job just adds to the list of challenges veterans face once they return home.

"When they first come back, a lot of is hyper-vigilance, they're so aware of what kept them safe which was being completely aware of their surroundings," Nash said.

A Veterans Affairs counselor meets with veterans once a month on campus. The center also has a combat support group. Nash said they just completed a workshop for mental health providers and religious leaders in the local community.

Military Times Ranks A-State Among Top Universities In “2015 Best For Vets Colleges” For Sixth Time

November 10, 2014

JONESBORO — For the sixth straight year, Arkansas State University is listed among the Military Times “Best for Vets Colleges.” The rankings factor in the most comprehensive school-by-school assessment of veteran and military students’ success rates. A-State has appeared on the rankings since its inaugural year of 2010.

According to Military Times, as with all Best for Vets rankings, Best for Vets Colleges 2015 is an editorially independent news project that evaluates the many factors that make an organization a good fit for service members, military veterans and their families.

Services offered through Arkansas State’s Beck PRIDE Center, based in the College of Nursing and Health Professions, also was a major factor contributing to the ranking.

The Beck PRIDE Center focuses on “Personal Rehabilitation, Individual Development and Education,” which is the basis for the PRIDE acronym. Its mission is to supplement, not replace, other traditional forms of assistance to military veterans.

Establishment of the center was made possible in 2007 through the generosity of Buddy and Charlotte Beck of Fairfax Station, VA, who are A-State alumni. From the beginning, more than 400 veterans have received services from the Beck Center.

The U.S. Department of Defense, recognizing the Beck Center’s progress, provided $1.4 million for program evaluation and replication design. The funding is supporting a research project titled “Beck PRIDE Center – An Effective Solution for Combat-Injured Student Veterans.”

DPEM Student, Holli Werner, chosen as the spotlight student at the Center for Domestic Preparedness

The CDP welcomes Holli Werner to training this week. Holli is a fulltime student in the Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Management Program at Arkansas State University at Jonesboro. Through a partnership with the CDP, Arkansas State has included CDP training in its disaster management curriculum.

Holli is attending one of the CDP’s first courses called TERT. The course can be traced back to the CDP’s beginning of June 1998. TERT is part of a handful of courses that allow emergency responders to train in a nerve agent and biological material environment.